Myanmar Analytical Activity: Ad Hoc Information Request No. 007: Yangon Activism and Cultural Influences

The city's post-colonial history has seen various forms of artistic expression used to criticize the government and military. In the colonial era, poets like Dagon Taryar formed the "New Writing Movement," also known as leftist poetry, which was disseminated through Thangyat - comedic poetry performed at the Thingyan (Burmese New Year Festival), and Anyeint - a form of traditional Burmese entertainment, comedic song and dance routines, literature, paintings, and poems. After the founding of the University in the 1920s, contemporary literature became a leading medium of activism in the capital. Restrictions on freedom of expression under the military junta government from 1962 to 1988 meant that many artistic dissidents focused on the corrupt nature of the regime. Protests through Anyeint performances peaked in the 1970s when the Hundred Moon Troupe publicly spoke up on democratic issues, a significant risk to the troupe's personal security at the time. The activists of the '88 Student Uprising inspired protest songs such as "Kar-Bar-Ma-Kyay-Bue" (translation: "we will not be satisfied 'till the end of the world"), as well as Thangyat group performances like "Goat Mouth and All-Seeing Eye," and satirical cartoons. Performance art and poetry emerged as common methods of activism after the '88 Student Uprising. Phyu Mon, reportedly the first female performance artist, used balloons to describe the pressures of tyranny and censorship. Famous poems such as "February 14" by San Wai, inspired participation in the Saffron Revolution. The Government's attempts to suppress these methods were unsuccessful because activists found ways to circulate their messages. For instance, Thangyat groups living in exile would send CDs across the border into Myanmar. Thangyat groups, cartoonists, and performance artists were at the forefront of denouncing the Government's actions during the Saffron Revolution. Many new counterculture activists were also born in the aftermath of the Saffron Revolution, like the punk rock band Rebel Riot and Generation Wave, a group of activists that includes ex-rappers who use graffiti and music to express artistic dissent. When the Thein Sein Government abolished the Press Scrutiny Board in 2011, artists began to create politically themed works more openly. Photography and videography became common forms of expression, advanced by initiatives like the Human Rights Human Dignity Film Festival. Despite a telecommunications law that banned support for the NLD, musicians often attended NLD rallies and released songs about peace and human rights. After the NLD came to power, political art and photography exhibitions, such as Seven Decade and Beyond the Prison Gate, which focused on political prisoners, proliferated in Yangon. However, the NLD-led Government also arrested artists like the Peacock Generation Thangyat group and the poet Maung Saung Kha, demonstrating limits on its tolerance for artistic forms of political activism. The cultural scene in Yangon continues to be shaped by the city's complex history of activism and repression. Artists in Yangon are becoming more prominent, their influence boosted by the ease of sharing their art and message on social media. The tie between the cultural scene and political activism is strong, and artists will likely continue using their art to political ends, even if the Government forces many underground.